Blog Archives

Prepare the way

11/25/2015

We are entering the liturgical season of Advent, a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Lord. And during this time we can hear echoing John the Baptist’s invitation: “Prepare the way for the Lord!”

Are we preparing a way for the Lord?

Are we letting ourselves see the presence of the Lord?

Are we ready to receive the grace that God is offering us?

How do we prepare ourselves to receive the gift that God is willing to give us?

There are mainly two ways how we can prepare ourselves for the Lord. First of all we need to get acquainted with the Lord. To get acquainted with someone we need to get to know this person. We can achieve this by spending time with this person, by talking to this person and by listening to this person. In other words, if we want to have a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord, we need to spend time with him in prayer where we open ourselves to God, talk to him and listen to what he has to tell us. One way of achieving this is through his inspired Word. If we use the scripture readings for the daily mass for our prayer and reflection, we will have the possibility of preparing ourselves progressively to the coming of the Lord and also search for answers for our problems. It is a wonderful way of establishing or strengthening and deepening our loving and intimate with God, our loved one.

The second part of our preparation is by examining ourselves. We need to ask ourselves whom are we putting first in our lives: God or ourselves. If God is not our first choice we are missing out on the grace that God is offering to us.

God is offering us a wonderful and precious gift: his only Son, Jesus Christ. It is the best gift that God the Father could offer to us. It is then up to us if we make use of this gift. If we receive a gift and we would not care at least to unwrap it, it would be obvious that we could care less about the gift or who gave it to us. To show our appreciation, we need to unwrap the gift and make use of it.

What are we seeking this Christmas? Are we seeking the gift of God or the gifts we receive under the tree? Are we seeking Jesus or are we seeking to satisfy ourselves and our cravings?

Many of us do not like Christmas because our wishes for happiness are never fulfilled and are relieved once Christmas is over. Some people are lonely and depressed and they hope that their loneliness could be filled with the gifts and the festivities. It is obvious that they are not seeking God’s gift but instead they are seeking worldly things to fill the void in their hearts. And the void in our hearts has only one shape: the shape of Jesus and only Jesus could fit in that void and fill it completely.

God is willing and eager to give us his Gift. Are we ready to accept it? If yes, we need to do one thing without which we cannot accept the Gift, we need to put God first in our lives.

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A King with a Difference

11/20/2015

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“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
When we look at a crucifix we see this statement inscribed on a piece of wood. One might think that this was a sick joke that Pontius Pilate or the Sanhedrin were playing on Jesus. But if one were to read the Gospel story, one would realize that the Sanhedrin members were beside themselves because of the inscription. They went to protest with the Governor, insisting that the inscription should be removed. But the inscription stayed.
It was no joke: it was the truth.

Jesus is King, but what sort of king is He?
A king sits on a throne, with a golden crown studded with precious jewels, with a scepter in his hand... but this King has a unique throne: the cross; the crown on his head is woven out of thorns; his scepter of power are the nails in his hands.
When one is in the presence of a king, one does not dare to say a word. Everyone keeps silent until asked to speak. Everyone tries to go by protocol... everything is well organized... everything is prepared well ahead.
But this One is a different King. Everyone closes around him, everyone tries to touch him, everyone is pushing and pressing around him. He does not have any security details with him.
But He is a King... with a difference.
When Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married, they had two carriages ready for them. One was open and the other one closed. In case it rains they would ride in the closed one.
And Jesus?
Once He was in a boat on the lake and there was a violent storm. Jesus got up, lifted up his hand and the wind and the sea calmed down. “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
Whenever there is a state-dinner or a wedding banquet, a lot of preparation is involved. Food and drink should be in abundance because God forbids there will be something lacking.
And Jesus, the King with a difference, happened to be a guest at a wedding. The couple ran out of wine. What are they going to do? There was Jesus: “Fill the jars with water!” And the water was changes into wine.
Another time, the crowd ran out of bread. Whenever this happenes in an earthly kingdom, the government ministers involved start running around to this country and that, in order to sign agreements and conventions, because somehow or from somewhere they need to get bread.
Jesus did not worry about such a problem. He blessed whatever bread there was, gave it to his apostles to hand it out to the people. All had their fill with a lot of leftovers, notwithstanding that they were over 5,000 men apart from the women and the children.
But He is a King with a difference!
In all countries one will find prisons, law-courts, policemen because they need to control criminality.
But Jesus has a different idea!

To the adulteress he said: “I do not condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
To the prodigal son, who could be today’s drug addict, alcoholic, pervert, gambler, thief or playboy, instead of locking him up for life in a prison, he threw a party. He forgave him, He accepted him again in his house.
He is a King... a King with a difference... would you like to be part of his kingdom?

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A Second Chance

11/14/2015

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We are living between the first and the second coming of the Lord. As Christians we believe in this second coming of the Lord. We profess it more than once during the sacrifice of the mass, especially during the Creed, which is our profession of faith, and the Acclamations during the Eucharistic prayers.

In the Creed we profess a belief in a judgement awaiting us. During this judgement we will come face to face with the evil effects of our sins, we will acknowledge the many times we could have done good and let them slip by, and of course we will see the good that we have done. In this judgement we will face all that we would have done if we got a second chance at life. And we do have this second chance! A chance at preparing for our judgement. A second chance at preparing for our death.

Jesus reminds us that nothing is permanent in this world and that we should live with one eye on the End so that we make good use of this second chance. Let us bear in mind that the Lord’s first coming, our present age and the Lord’s second coming, are one act: the Lord’s saving act of the world. We are presently at the second stage of this saving act and we should be actively preparing ourselves for the third and final stage: the Lord’s second coming when the resurrection of us all will take place, followed by our general judgement.

In the meantime, living between the two comings of the Lord, we must be aware that there is a great battle raging on. It is the battle between good and evil which is becoming more and more intense. If we take a look around us we can see that family life is disintegrating, we can notice a blatant disrespect for life, we can observe that the priesthood is being seen in a negative way and that some members in the priesthood have disregarded their views and duties. We can also see the good that many people are doing. We see people being involved in voluntary work where they help others in need. We see people who attend prayer groups and other meetings and commit themselves to live what they believe. The battle keeps raging on till the Lord’s second coming when evil will be conquered once and for all.

Our role is to allow Jesus to have more control over our lives. We allow Jesus to have more room in our lives by spending time with him in prayer. We allow our Lord to have more control over our lives when we live according to his teachings and values. In this way we will be tipping the scales in favour of Jesus and his victory.

We have a second chance at living according to our Lord’s values, and the time is now. Are we making good use of this second chance?

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True Love or Distorted Love?

11/7/2015

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What is the motivating force in our lives? In the Bible, among other people, we find two widows on one side and the scribes on the other side.
The two widows perform acts of great generosity. The widow in Elijah’s time, though living through a time of famine, was willing to share the little food that she had with the prophet who for her was a complete stranger. The widow in the gospel gave her last coin to the Temple’s offertory box.
On the other hand, the scribes are the ones who gave utmost importance to the exterior, but they were interiorly corrupt to the extent of taking the property of widows.
The difference between these two groups of people comes from their relationship with God or the lack of it. The widows acted generously because they trusted in God. Their lives were rooted in God. The scribes were grounded in what others thought of them. They were motivated not by their relationship with God, but by their public image.
The widows, being animated by God’s love, gave glory to God with their actions. They knew how deeply they were loved by God, how generous God had been in his love, and that was enough for them. They were basking in God’s love for them.
The scribes had not basked in God’s love. They did not let themselves experience the depth of God’s love for them and what they did was not the reflection of who they were. They did actions that were meant to please God, but their lives were not pleasing to God. They did not know who they were, that is persons loved by God, and therefore they did not know how to act as persons loved by God.
Do we really know how much God loves us? The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of God’s love and tells us that Christ came to take away our sins by his sacrifice. We need to reflect on God’s love for us in His Son Jesus Christ. We need to realize and experience how lavishly God bestows his love upon us.
Let us ask ourselves again: What is the motivating force in our lives? Is it God’s love for us or our love for ourselves, that is, is it true love or distorted love?

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Author

Fr. Karm S. Borg MSSP is a Maltese Catholic priest within the Missionary Society of St. Paul until recently ministering at St.Paul the Apostle Parish,
Toronto, ON, Canada. Now he resides in Malta at St. Agatha's Motherhouse, Rabat.